Verified Document

Disaster Response Essay

Haiti Earthquake After examining the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake of Jan 2010, it is quite obvious that the impact of this natural disaster will be felt for many years to come and much healing and growth will be needed in the near future in order to bring the people of this country to a decent standard of living. This report will document the many public health challenges that were evident after the earthquake and will provide guidance on how future natural disasters' impacts may be mitigated by wise and prudent action. This after action review of the response will highlight the successes and failures of the efforts provided and make suggestions on how those processes may be improved upon.

Initial Observations

Before anyone may help anyone in such a damaging situation as a major earthquake, an acceptable amount of peace and security must be established or nothing may be accomplished. The sense of chaos, death and despair creates a panicked atmosphere where little may be done to affect the necessary medical treatment that is necessary to save lives and bring peace.

Haiti was quite chaotic as I stumbled through the rubble. A deep sense of lawlessness and fear permeated the destroyed landscape which hampered any type of humanitarian efforts. Information was scarce and there was little communication between the many nongovernmental organizations, military units, domestic police and various other invaders of the nation who had come...

In these areas near the capital city of Port Au Prince, the response was quite disorganized. A clear lack of response plan seemed evident as there was little consistency between information discussed amongst people. Rumors and lies soon replaced facts as the scene in these collection of triage areas operated in a fog of confusion and disorder.
After some days elapsed order was slowly being restored and a more objective realization of the public health efforts could be monitored. It turned out that the Haitian government reported that 222,570 people had died; over 300,000 had been injured while 1.3 million were displaced.

Establishing Standards

The most glaring idea that seemed to contribute to the failed efforts of rescue, recovery and rebuilding efforts in Haiti 2010 was a lack of leadership and shared vision. The massive earthquake may not have been predicted, but a complete lack of response may be more to blame for loss of life than the earthquake itself.

Understanding the importance of a strategic plan requires the public health official to organize his ideas into a useful and practical sequence of action. To help guide this intent 4 minimum standards should be observed and promoted. The following priorities of work are helpful in setting up this strategic approach:

1. Establish…

Sources used in this document:
References

Dowell, S.F., Tappero, J.W., Frieden, T.R. (2011). Public Health in Haiti -- Challenges and Progress, New England Journal of Medicine, 364, 300-301: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1100118

Cyen. (2010). Definition of disaster: Disaster Management Notes and Questions.pdf

UNDP. (2010). Empowering Haiti to Build Better Future: http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/publications/v.php?id=13617
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Government and Its Role and
Words: 1157 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

In this case, individuals are entitled to produce goods and services to meet their human need instead of private profit (Wolff, 2012). Prevention for Power and Privileges under Social Contract: While social contract provides power and privileges to all members of the society, ordinary people are usually prevented from executing the power and privilege that they are entitled to through various ways. Some of these ways include the state's legitimacy claims

Government & Policy the Joyan
Words: 1138 Length: 4 Document Type: Creative Writing

Also, a very liberal strategy like the one that Mexico took after the NAFTA agreements is dangerous to a newly independent state. Extreme liberalization worked well for Mexico because a large and confident Mexico felt like it could benefit greatly from increased trade and labor transfer with the United States, without being pushed around in the agreement, and Canada helped to maintain neutrality. The Joyan Islands, on the other

Government Why Did the Framers
Words: 5873 Length: 18 Document Type: Essay

Republicans construed Obama as suggesting government bailouts for new industries, or at the slightest a more lively federal government function in generating or supporting jobs -- concepts abominations to a lot of conservatives. The Obama campaign countered the idea as political spin that does not replicate the president's feeling or meaning, pointing to full circumstances of the quotation as confirmation (Koch, 2011). Discuss the process of how a Bill becomes a

Government Contracting Process the Federal
Words: 2271 Length: 8 Document Type: Thesis

(Vancketta, 1999) The 'Changes' clause enables the Government "to make unilateral changes to the contract during performance, so long as those changes fall within the contract's scope." The Standard 'Changes' clause utilized in fixes price supply contracts allows the CO to make changes in writing to: 1) the drawings, designs, or specifications when the item is being specifically manufactured for the government; 2) the method of shipment or packing; or 3) the place

Government by the People Federalism
Words: 969 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Lobbyists may accost legislators to directly influence their vote on a certain issue. Lobbyists fulfill the important role of providing information for legislators' decision-making, educating and forming public opinion, and even contributing to and testifying to certain legislations. Lobbyists are mostly involved in the electoral process through the use of political action committees (Magleby et al.). Creating the Constitution The original framers designed the Constitution for ordinary people who were not

Government Effects the Government in
Words: 317 Length: 1 Document Type: Term Paper

Higher taxes for example relates to less income for basic needs. In terms of political ideology, it is obvious that the particular ideology of the government would affect the rest of the country. In terms of the United States, for example, the Republican government has a certain set of ideals in terms of issues such as abortion, religious ideology, and so on, that they tend to impose upon the population. In

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now